Who are the best players the Egyptian has played with during his illustrious career?
Alisson Becker (Goalkeeper)
Having seen the former FC Basel attacker play with top shot-stoppers like Petr Cech and Essam El-Hadary, we had a tough choice to make between the sticks.
Ultimately, Alisson got the nod owing to the fact he and Salah have been teammates at Liverpool in their respective primes.
Cech was already on the wane when the wideman moved to Stamford Bridge, likewise El-Hadary with Egypt.
The Brazilian was in top form in his first year at the Reds, which ended with the club’s first Champions League success since 2005.
In addition, the Merseyside outfit have picked up the Uefa Super Cup, Club World Cup, the Premier League, the League Cup and the FA Cup since Alisson and Salah started playing together.
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Right-back)
Potentially one of the best full-backs of his generation, Trent’s meteoric rise has seen him become arguably the best right-back in Europe.
His passing, crossing and all-round ability in possession and at set-pieces has elevated him within the game and sees him pip ex-Chelsea man Branislav Ivanovic to this XI.
Salah and TAA have formed a good partnership down Liverpool’s right side and their terrific interplay has led to numerous Reds victories.
Andrew Robertson (Left-back)
Ashley Cole was no longer at his best when Salah moved to West London, so he misses out at Robertson’s expense in our selection.
The Scot may not be as talented as Alexander-Arnold, but his contribution from full-back has been immense in Liverpool’s recent dominance at home and on the continent.
With Alexander-Arnold and Rbertson together, the Reds have been blessed with probably the best full-back pairing in world football at the moment.
John Terry (Centre-back)
Leaving out Chelsea’s inspirational skipper was never an option, and his return to the starting line-up in 13/14 under Jose Mourinho after largely being a peripheral figure with Rafael Banitez as interim boss was pleasing to see.
He made 34 league appearances that term and also helped the Blues to a Champions League semi-final. The following season, Chelsea returned to the summit of the top flight with their first Premier League win since 2010, and Terry (34 at the time) played every game.
While Salah left on loan to Fiorentina midway through 14/15, he still got to play with one of the Premier League’s greatest defenders for a year.
Virgil van Dijk (Centre-back)
If Salah’s signing at Liverpool in the summer of 2017 perfected Jurgen Klopp’s attack, Van Dijk’s purchase in the winter window transformed the hitherto erratic Reds defence into the best in the land.
The Dutch defender fused the defence into a unified whole, and it helped the Merseyside club to a CL final in 17/18, which they lost to Real Madrid, before winning it in 2019.
VVD, like Salah, has also become one of the best players in Europe in their time as teammates.
Nemanja Matic (Defensive midfield)
Fabinho runs the Serbian midfielder close, but Matic’s transformative impact at Chelsea after moving in the winter of the 13/14 campaign was palpable.
He was brought back to the club by Mourinho and his presence instantly restored balance to the Blues’ midfield for the second-half of that season.
This ultimately proved vital in the Stamford Bridge outfit’s league triumph the following season, as well as success in the League Cup.
Jordan Henderson (Central midfield)
Liverpool’s dedicated captain features owing to his influence for the Reds under Klopp.
While the Englishman may not be everyone’s cup of tea, his assertiveness in the middle of the park for the Merseyside giants is unrivalled.
It’s no surprise the world champions suffer when he has absent, and he’ll be a hard act to follow whenever he does leave Anfield.
Cesc Fabregas (Central midfield)
Salah and Fabregas played together for just half a season at Chelsea, but the Spaniard’s impact upon arriving from Barcelona was simply extraordinary.
The ex-Arsenal captain, alongside Matic in midfield, was at his creative best as the West London club played some of the best football in the country.
Fabregas revamped the style at the Bridge, duly setting up 13 assists in the first 19 matchdays (he played 18 games), which had risen to 15 by the time Salah left for Italy.
Sadio Mane (Wing forward)
Mane was the first top signing under Klopp who helped the Anfield giants’ transformation from top four contenders to the best side domestically and – at times – in Europe.
The pair of Salah and Mane benefitted from playing side by side, and their friendly rivalry saw them take their game to the next level.
This partnership massively contributed to Liverpool’s litany of successes, and it’s a shame for African football that such a sublime trans-continental partnership has been broken up with Mane’s move to Bayern Munich.
Eden Hazard (Wing forward)
Chelsea’s most talented player when Salah joined the club in January 2014 definitely features in this selection owing to his immense quality with the ball and also his end product in the final third.
Hazard scored 17 goals in all competitions in 13/14, ending the year as the club’s top scorer, while being named PFA Young Player of the Year and Chelsea’s Player of the Year.
The following campaign saw the Belgian wizard ascend to top dog in the country, becoming the PFA Player of the Year, an honour Salah himself claimed in 2018.
Despite not enjoying too much on-field time together, Salah and Hazard have stayed friends since the former’s departure from Stamford Bridge.
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Diego Costa (Centre forward)
Sorry Roberto Firmino, but the Spanish brute certainly gets the nod up top in what’s also a fearsome looking trio alongside Mane and Hazard.
Like Fabregas, Costa joined Chelsea in 2014 and had an amazing start to his maiden year at the Blues netting 13 times in the first-half of the season.
What made the frontman’s return even more commendable was the fact it came in 16 appearances.
Costa scored four more in the league, taking his tally to 17 goals, before Salah’s Serie A move in February.
